Escobar, Hochevar lead Royals past Indians

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Luke Hochevar (44) takes the ball from catcher Salvador Perez during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, July 31, 2012.
Photo by The Associated Press.

Escobar had two hits for his 34th multihit game, raising his average to a team-leading .307. Jarrod Dyson and Alex Gordon had three hits each, and Chris Getz had two hits and drove in two runs. The Royals scored all their runs in the first three innings.

Hochevar settled down after giving up three runs over the second and third innings. One run scored on Johnny Damon’s infield single in the second when Hochevar failed to cover first base. In the third, Asdrubal Cabrera scored on Hochevar’s wild pitch.

Hochevar (7-9) gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out six.

The Royals broke open the game with a five-run third, highlighted by Getz’s two-run double and Escobar’s RBI triple. The third was one shy of the club’s biggest inning this season.

Indians starter Derek Lowe (8-10) failed to finish the third and balked in a run. Lowe was pulled after allowing seven runs on eight hits, two walks and a balk in 2 1/3 innings.

In his past three starts, Lowe is 0-3 with a 15.88 ERA, allowing 20 earned runs and 23 hits in 11 1/3 innings. Since starting the season 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA on May 15, Lowe is 2-9 and his ERA has climbed to 5.52.

Lorenzo Cain, who also had two hits, had a run-producing single in the first. In the second, Escobar’s single to right scored Getz and Dyson.

Notes: The Royals finished July with a 7-19 record. ... Indians RF Shin-Soo Choo struck out four times. ... In a minor-league trade, the Indians acquired 1B-OF Lars Anderson from the Boston Red Sox for Double-A Akron RHP Steven Wright. Anderson has appeared in 48 games with Boston in the past three seasons. He spent most of this season with Triple-A Pawtucket, hitting .259. ... The Indians failed to make a big league deal before the deadline. “Everybody would like to add help, but I’m not disappointed because I didn’t know what I’d lose,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “I was not anticipating much. We’re in the thick of things and we have no veteran guys we can move.” The Indians entered Tuesday in third place in the AL Central, five games behind the Chicago White Sox. “If you can’t make up five games in 60 days, you don’t deserve to be in the playoffs,” Acta said. ... With the Royals trading closer RHP Jonathan Broxton to the Reds for two minor league pitchers, manager Ned Yost said RHP Greg Holland would be used as the closer. . The Royals played a man short and will bring up a reliever today to take Broxton’s roster spot.